Florida man accused of posing as drug cartel captive, extorting $80,000 from wife to support his drug habit
Mugshot of Eric Johnson - a Melbourne man accused of extorting $80,000 from his wife while posing as a member of a drug cartel | Photo Credit: Brevard County Sheriffs Office
MELBOURNE, Fla. - A Melbourne man who pretended he was involved in the drug cartel allegedly extorted his wife for over $81,000 in support of his drug habit, arrest records show.
Eric Paul Johnson, 29, was reported missing by his wife in December 2023 after he was allegedly being held for ransom by the Mexican Cartel. The woman said she returned home from work and received multiple messages from an unknown phone number demanding various sums of money, deputies said.
Johnson reportedly led the woman to believe they were being blackmailed, claiming a man named "Troy" was stepping in to help them.
The messages stated that Johnson would be hurt or would not come home if his wife did not send the money to Johnson's CashApp account.
Some of the messages read:
"I'm running from whoever your husband sent after me in our business it's only a matter of time before they catch me…500 now for my family or again things will happen."
"500 now or buenas noches."
"Better send 500 now or he won't make it to the wedding."
This wasn't the first time Johnson allegedly disappeared for ransom.
Two months before the reported the kidnapping, Johnson began frequently disappearing because of the money he allegedly owed to the cartel.
As soon as she paid the ransom, Johnson would return home shortly after.
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Johnson was also in possession of his wife's car when he was reported missing that day. His wife said she believed he returned to her house the day of the "kidnapping" because she saw the outfit she had previously seen him wearing in their bedroom, an affidavit shows.
The day after Johnson went missing, officers located him after he was captured on camera driving on US 192 in Melbourne.
During the interview, Johnson said he was the one who sent text messages from an unknown number to his wife alleging he was kidnapped because he had a cocaine problem. Johnson said he had never sold drugs before and was just a personal user, detectives said.
A search of Johnson's phone revealed that he went to visit a woman he was "sexting" when he was reported missing from his wife.
When the couple met in May 2020, Johnson disclosed that he used cocaine and marijuana and also worked for the drug cartel. He said he was running a "large quantity of cocaine, which was ultimately intercepted and resulted in a loss of $60,000." She helped him pay off the alleged debt.
The couple has been married for 11 months but have been dating since May 2020. About two years before the couple married, Johnson allegedly stole $9,000 from his wife after using her debit card at ATMs around Melbourne.
Between May 2020 and December 2023, Johnson's wife sent him $71,759.78 on CashApp.